I stopped in on my way through Waterloo. I haven't been to the museum since I was little. It is…read moredelightful. Just the right size for a short stop, yet packed with great information and insights. The displays and interactive activities are well done and good for all ages. Thank you for persevering all this history.

Good sized museum with plenty of information about local history and some science topics. One thing…read moreI really liked was all the different options for fun photo opportunities that are good for both children and adults. These are arranged on two separate floors that are fairly well spaced so that you have plenty of room to explore, even with other patrons inside the museum. The displays are done well, with plenty of artifacts shown in a realistic setting and well written explanations of what the visitor is looking at. Overall, a nice place to spend a few hours learning and exploring.

Working with Camille went very smoothly at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. We reserved the…read moreRotary Room for my daughter's graduation luncheon, and it was set-up as promised. I had table flower centerpieces delivered and they were kind enough to receive and put them on the tables. We did struggle to find the location of the room. as it did lack the signage that was anticipated. Overall, it was the perfect location for our gathering.

I got the opportunity to play on the River Loop the other night, as a part of Waterloo Center for…read morethe Arts! Wow what a beautiful place to see live music! It was hot but have no fear, there were beers, food, people rolling up on boats and people enjoying the sights and sounds of the city! The event was beautifully run and I enjoyed talking to Kent from the center for the arts about some of the other things they are doing there this summer including showing films and hosting more concerts! I didn't get the opportunity to go inside and check out the art museum so this is more a review of the River loop but man if's its half as cool on the inside as it was on the outside it will be 5 stars for sure!

This is a FREE museum in Waterloo and really well done. The informational movie (about 25 minutes)…read moreis well done and provides a great overview. There are several interactive exhibits and the story of John Deere will surprise many. Staff are very present and helpful. There is a large parking lot which is also free. It was about an hour stop and I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about the history, technology and farming.

Wonderful museum. Excellent displays and great historic information. Very in depth with…read moreinteractive displays. Great for kids or adults. And it's Free!

I visited Hansen's a couple of weeks ago with my boyfriend and his family. His parents said that we…read morewere going to a farm to milk a cow, so I decided to join them. When we got there, I wasn't sure what to expect. Everything looked okay, and we were lured by all the ice cream flavors, so I was not prepared for what was to come. We jumped on an open air vehicle to begin our tour. We stopped at the place where they have the cows all separated by age: calves, younger ones, and adults. We were first given the opportunity to feed the babies, which is when my horror began. I had the chance to feed a five-day old calf that was HORRIFIED. I didn't want to play into this game at first, but I overheard that the calf was being a brat; rather than allowing others to make it more scared, I decided to step in to bottle feed it. I learned that the cows are taken from their mothers at birth so they don't attach, and the tour guide had the nerve to tell is that their moms don't care. I get that this is standard practice at milk factories, but please don't insult our intelligence. Then we move on to the factory part, where we see the cows lined up and attached to the devices that are milking them. My horror grew. We learned there about the artificial insemination, got to see some cows not wanting to be herded in, and our tour guide saying they "should get over it," as it will be over in a few minutes. And of course, this is where the tour group is invited to milk one of the cows. I couldn't do it, but the rest of my group was happy to do so. I know that what I saw isn't likely even close to the horrors of the milking practices of most milk factories, but this was enough to make me want to cry. Then we moved on to another part of the farm, where the cows are kept in filthy and crowded conditions. We were told that they prefer to be in there and not roam because they don't feel safe roaming in pastures... what?! I couldn't do it anymore; I had to step away. Then they showed us their kangaroo collection. I don't know much about kangaroos, so nothing to say here about whether or not this was a happy situation. The kangaroos were just lying there looking bored or hot. The tour ended by us trying their ice cream, cheese curds, and butter (which they had us make). This part would have been fun, had I not been traumatized already. Again, I can imagine that this is the "nice" version of what happens in most milk factories, so thank you, Hansen's for giving me a glimpse.

We took our two grandchildren, aged 3 and 5. They absolutely loved the kangaroos, chocolate milk…read moreand the ice cream that was included in the ticket price. They also enjoyed bottle feeding the calves, the cheese curds and wagyu beef sticks. The 5 year old even milked a cow! It was a very well run tour! They had tables set up with our names ready to wait for everyone to arrive. They also gave out crayons and sheets for the children to color. We then loaded up on a tractor drawn trolley to take us to the farm. Our large group was divided into two groups. 1/2 went to the kangaroos and the other 1/2 to the calves. We were given slices of bread to feed the kangaroos. It was fun for the adults too, lol! When then moved on to bottle feed the calves, then visit the heifers and then the milking room. We were provided with some very interesting facts as we went along. We then visited with their 2 one year old female kangaroos. Super cute! We loaded up on the trolley to return to the main building. There they provided us with a choice of whole milk or chocolate milk, plates of curds and beef sticks. They also had jars of heavy cream for us to make butter. 5-6 minutes of shaking and we had butter! We then were able choose from around 20 flavors of ice cream. Very delicious! We watched a video on the making of their products and had the chance to purchase items. This was the second time we had visited the dairy in the last 2 years. This was just as enjoyable as the first time. I highly recommend this for anyone with young children! Or even adults! We'll take the grands again in a couple of years. Thank you for a wonderful time Hansen family!

While my daughter and I stayed at the hotel, we of course had to visit the arcade…read more It had a decent amount of games and they were all pretty fun. And we were the only ones there, which was a huge bonus as my daughter could be as loud as she wanted and could run around a bit. The rewards for your tickets is all automated in a machine, which was pretty cool. Overall, it was a really fun arcade to have in a hotel for something to do.

Adult Cinema is the real deal!!! Toys, Lubes, Lingerie!!…read moreThey have it all!

Lots of fun. Unfortunately cashier price gouges you if you peek and like what you see.read more

This is where my brother Scott and his bride had both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding…read morereception. And as I recall, it was potluck both times. Willow Run Country Club was a very pleasant and welcoming experience.

First I need to say that I love this facility. Even with the cheap seats you feel like you are…read morestill close to the action. ( At the Des Moines Civic Center you feel like you need binoculars to see the stage.) Everything is well maintained and looks very nice. They offer some shows with children's tickets at $1. This has help us to expose our kids to the arts without breaking the bank to do it. They have accompanied us to more shows that I ever would have taken them to because of this. Six years ago we became friends of Gallagher-Bluederon and with our $50 donation we could order tickets slightly sooner than the general public. No other perks other than your name listed very tiny in the program. But then they decided to raise it to $125 dollars. Sure you can still contribute at a lower amount, but there is no real incentive. From the looks of it, many people dropped off the Friends list as well. I always think that wouldn't it be better to fill the house with everyone paying $25 a seat instead of charging $75 and only having 1/3 of the seats filled. Isn't the goal to bring the arts to the people? If so, lower the prices a little. After all, this is why a lot of us can't even think about going to a professional athletic contest either.

The venue itself is great and the acts they bring are very good…read more Our complaint is that the prices keep going up and have gotten to the point where we only go to one (if even that) show a year. (We used to go to 3-4 per year.) This is too bad. Also, some of the ticket sales (phone) staff are quite rude. I called to inquire about some tickets I was told would be mailed to me and hadn't received, only to be told that I shouldn't have been told they would be mailed and she "wouldn't know why I would have been told that - they were all placed in will call". (This was a free event, and I have no problem with that.) Then, I asked if she would please check to make sure they were indeed set aside and she snapped that "Well, I don't know why they wouldn't have been?" Well, probably for the same reason I was originally told they would be mailed - just an error. How rude! She did check for me (we didn't want to show up with our guests and have no tickets) and curtly told me they were there. The snotty attitude was really a turnoff!